Blogging for Business – 6 Things You Need to Know

Gaining new clients for your business doesn’t happen in a vacuum. You need proper marketing and outreach efforts to help your business grow. 

These days blogging for business has become an essential part of building and maintaining an online presence for your business. Approximately 77% of all internet users read blogs on a regular basis. 

Blogging has many benefits that help your business grow, but many businesses do not have a blog on their website. I’ve talked to many business owners and I think the problem is that many do not understand what a blog is and how it can help their business. This article was written to help answer these questions. 

What Is a Business Blog?

Before we can get into how a blog can help you business I think it is important to first establish what I mean when I say blog. 

I am not talking about a diary or journal where you can narrate what happened in your day and tell us who’s your latest crush. This might sound silly but many, many business owners I speak with think that is what a blog is supposed to be. No wonder they don’t have one!

A blog is a section of your website that is devoted to news, articles, and maybe some press clippings for your company. When your website users click on your blog they should be greeted with current articles and information about your company that shows your expertise, ties to the community, and positions you as a thought leader. 

Now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s take a look at some of the reasons why blogging for business can help you gain new clients and grow your brand. 

1. A Blog Shows What Makes Your Company Unique

It’s a hard-knock world out there filled with many other firms and companies that do exactly the same thing as you. Standing out from the crowd can be challenging. 

However, no two businesses are exactly the same. It’s important to tell your prospects what makes you unique. A company blog can help showcase your personality, company information, and experience.

This will distinguish you from your competitors. If you want to make yourself known, your company needs a blog. 

2. A Blog Can Improve Your SEO

There’s that term again that everyone is talking about – SEO. It’s short for search engine optimization. One of the reasons your business needs a blog is it can help increase the likelihood that people will find your business when searching online. 

SEO leads in general have a 14.6% conversion rate. To put that into perspective outbound leads from direct mail or print advertising have a conversion rate of around 1.7%. To make it even better blogging is a whole lot less expensive!

When you write a blog  you are connecting your website with a bunch of new keywords that will make it easier for search engines to find your site. Essentially you are growing your online presence and making it easier for your customers to find you. 

You are also putting fresh content up on your website. Google ranks websites higher that have fresh content added to them periodically. Blogging for business won’t get you on the front page of Google overnight, however, it will significantly enhance your search engine results over time. 

3. A Blog Can Increase Traffic to Your Website

This next point is kinda related to the previous one. Blogging can also help your website pull in more traffic. Businesses that blog receive 55% more traffic than businesses that do not have a blog. 

Blogging can also help your business increase email traffic – visitors are driven to your website from an email marketing campaign. Businesses that blog experience twice as much email traffic as businesses that do not blog. 

Some of your traffic will come from current customers, but a blog is also a great way to connect with new customers. These prospective customers can read your blogs and turn from a cold lead to a warm lead. 

4. A Blog Builds Trust and Demonstrates Your Expertise

A well-written, thoughtful, and frequently updated company blog that addresses important industry news shows your potential customers that you are an expert in your field. Demonstrate your knowledge in your blog posts and show them that you are just the company you solve their problem. 

Make your blog an extension of your customer service efforts. Use your blog to answer frequently asked questions or address common concerns. When you blog about these things that are important to your customers, you show that you truly care about their problem and that you want to help be a part of the solution. 

This makes readers trust you and people are more likely to purchase products or services from a company they trust. 

5. A Blog Can Boost Your Social Media Presence

Interesting content is often cited as one of the top reasons why people visit social media sites. So why not share your latest blog on social media?

A quick post announcing your new blog post and a link over to your website is a great way to connect with your audience on social media. 

It’s a good idea to include social media sharing buttons at the top and bottom of your blog posts so people can share an article that they found interesting with their friends. 

6. A Blog Can Generate Leads for Your Business

You can leverage your blog to get the email address of leads from your business by asking them to subscribe to your blog. Those emails can then be used for marketing purposes to increase touchpoints with a prospective customer.

Not only will they regularly see your blog posts, but the door is now open to email marketing opportunities to promote your business, send email promotions, and more!

The more often you can connect with a lead, the better the chance of converting them into a paying customer. 

Start a Blog Page on Your Website Today

I hope this article answered your questions about blogging for business. The cost of blogging is such a minimal expense compared to many other marketing tactics. There is no excuse not to have a blog. 

If you don’t feel confident in your writing abilities or you simply don’t have time to keep up with blogging, consider hiring a freelance marketer (like myself) to help.

I’d be happy to make suggestions to topics, conduct on-page SEO so your website gets more traffic from search engines, write the blogs, post them on your website, and even promote them for you. I also stay in tune with trending topics so your company never misses an opportunity.

Schedule a 15-minute free consultation today if you’re interested in my content marketing and blogging services for your business. I’m happy to help.